My thoughts:
Whatever you do, don't get a laptop now with Windows! Then you'll have to pay for the upgrade to Vista and that will cost a pretty penny. I'm testing Vista now, and with all the features it packs, I know it'll cost a lot.
Say you buy a $500 laptop now with Windows XP. In a couple months, when Vista rolls around, you'll have to buy the upgrade for at least $200 to $250. Total cost: between $700 and $750
Say you buy the same laptop, except with Vista, in a few months. It may cost a lottle more because of the new software needed to run Vista, but it still costs a lot less than the XP computer.
Total cost: roughly $600
So which one is better?
To clear up what other ppl said is next. I have worked extensively with the Vista project, so I know what is/isn't real.
It doesn't. I have Norton AntiVirus 2007 ET1 for Vista and there is no "lock-up." And if it does, go into the control panel and disable Microsoft's security system.
Wrong. It doesn't run on x64 unless you buy the x64 system and an x64 computer. Most XP programs work with Vista, including VMKpal, Java applets, Firefox, Netscape, Word (dating all the back to Word XP), and more. This is not true at all; I have tons of XP programs which work great on Vista. TONS. And do you realize how much Vista will cost?
More to come.